Red Lodge Mountain — Attraction in Red Lodge

On December 2nd I witnessed a gross breakdown of class, character, communication and transparency on Red Lodge Mountain. It was our first day of the season and what should be a great first day up on the local hill was anything but. We went to get my Girlfriend her new pass for the season. As has been the case for years you receive a new pass at the beginning of the season. We thought nothing of the fact that we could not find last years pass and went to the ticket counter where we were informed that it was a $20 fee to reprint a pass. The woman who spoke to us was curt and when we asked for clarification was quick to call her supervisor, Denise. As we were standing outside waiting on Denise to make it over to the side door of the ticket counter, I overheard the first woman complain to Denise that this "girl over here is complaining about spending $20". The tone and the interaction indicated to me that your staff cares less about being professional and remembering that they are in customer service and are in fact more interested in being rude and petty. Denise deployed what can best be described as her best fake nice expression and told us we must pay the $20 for a reprint even though no new pass had been issued for the season. This was explained to be a "greener" option yet you print lost passes on the same plastic for $5. Someone could come everyday reprinting for $5 and have dozens of plastic cards made. We were told that it says emphatically that you must reuse your pass from previous seasons yet no such writing was presented or shown to be the case. We then asked to speak to her manager or someone else and we were told that a "Jeff" was in charge but he wouldn't want to talk to us, was too busy and had left for the day around 1PM. We were given a card we were told was his without any of his information and was in fact just a general card for the mountain. She lied to us telling us that she had given us your card with your information but gave us a blank card and would not tell us your full name. She then said we could send her an email and she would pass it along. Denise was rude, her repeated dismissal of our issue and her attempt to give us the runaround and no information, yet claim she had, was incredibly poor service. Denise pulled out the one sheeter with your policies on it and lo and behold the "it says right here you have to keep your pass for each season" never materialized and unless it has been amended does not exist. At this point I started recording her because of how rude she was being and I have her on video admit to and apologize for being rude. We eventually got her to bring us to your brand new guest services manager Taylor ( I believe that was his name). We shared the same story with him and he shared that he had to pay the same fee when his wife lost her pass. Again he reinforced that this was something that was known and was in the agreement that is signed for your season pass. When we asked him to show that to us he had to admit that it does not say that in the printed rules or agreement. He was very nice and printed, for the first time this season, her pass. We are lifelong Montanans. This is not how customer service should work in the small town of Red Lodge at our local mountain. I understand that Customer Service takes a cool head and skill. The mountain was not busy that day, you haven't been busy at all this season so your pass holders are even more important when the snow isn't dumping. To see this person be your front facing staff leader interacting with your guests is appalling. As we stated multiple times this isn't an issue with spending $20, this is about your poorly written policy and your attempts to enforce it. Simply, Denise never apologized for her behavior and she put Taylor in a bad situation trying to fix it. I would encourage you to cull the attitudes festering in your customer service before they spread to the rest of your team. This was emailed to HR Manager and Manager Jeff Schmidt who...

The mountain seems nice but unfortunately one staff member ruined our experience. My girlfriend and I have tried to snowboard a couple of times in the past but neither of us had ever taken a lesson. It had also been a few years since our last attempt. We were in Red Lodge visiting friends for the weekend and we all thought it would be fun to take advantage of the snow by going up to snowboard. Since my girlfriend and I hadn't been in a few years and had never taken a lesson we decided to take advantage of the lesson and rental package the mountain offers. Our instructor, Mitch, was nice enough. During our lesson we had told him we had tried to snowboard a couple of times in the past but had never taken a lesson. After he gave us some basics he took us over to the lift. Once we were there we were berated by another staff member. I believe his name was Craig. He yelled at us because we had tried snowboarding in the past (we assume Mitch informed him when we arrived to the lift) and said we should not have purchased the package. He told us twice that we needed to quit purchasing that deal as if we had done so in the past. He said it was for first timers only and that they have more intermediate lessons for a higher price that we should have paid. It was a little embarrassing and made us feel we did something wrong. Mitch did apologize for his co-worker after we got off the lift but we were still a bit frustrated. After leaving and re-visiting the website we believe we purchased the correct package. I have copied and pasted directly from their website:

"Beginner lessons are perfect for first-time skiers and snowboarders of all ages, and for those who need a little extra work on the basics (turning or stopping). Our learning area and easy-to-ride Magic Carpet provide a safe and fun place to get started.

All beginner lesson packages include:

1 Miami Beach Lift ticket 90 minutes of group instruction Equipment rentals"

We definitely needed help with stopping and turning and struggle with falling. Craig needs to review their own policies and not berate paying patrons. His attitude and actions soured our visit. I don't foresee returning here and spending our money when there are much friendlier options. Our friends also mentioned that the season passes have almost doubled in the last few years. Seems like other places are also cheaper. Save your money and visit a more cost effective mountain with...

Hello...I am writing about how the staff handle cancellation/closure of the Lodge because of Fire Threats. I understand 100% that the Fire near by was unpredictable, and safety is at the highest concern...So I get it on this level, BUT when I got the 1st call that our weekend might be canceled, I did ask if they knew of "other" places close by that we could look into. We are from out of town (two flts, to Billings). We where there for a wedding that was close by. The first phone call when I did ask about other accommodation, they where extremely unhelpful, and very annoyed that I would even be asking such a question....When I recd the second call that our reservation was cancel, again I ask If there was any place they could suggested? No help what so ever. We went out to Red Lodge and walked around and yes you could see smoke in the distances but the town was not closed down and their where places that where still open.but full...In fact We did go into the Pollard Hotel and they had "just Booked" the last room....This was about two 1/2 hours after we got the cancelation call. I totally understand the safety of guest,,,but it would have been nice if the "staff" would have been more helpful on suggestion. I am in the travel industry, and If there is ever an issue my company does go out of its way to try to accommodated our guest on other flts, or accommodation....We where very much looking forward to staying in the area, but instead by the grace of god, was able to stay at the Hotel we stayed the night before in Billings and cut our stay short. I realize you all probably could careless about this posting, but maybe next time be little more helpful...kindness goes a long...